Objects illuminate life of Russian imperial family

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 7:00 AM

By Chris BergeronDaily News Staff

CLINTON - From the age of Peter the Great to the murder of Tsar Nicholas II, members of the reigning Romanov family dined off exquisite porcelain, enamel and silver gilt place settings as the mass of ordinary Russians seethed in poverty and growing discontent.In a revealing departure from prior shows, the Museum of Russian Icons is exhibiting an array of fabulous decorative arts from "The Tsars’ Cabinet’’ that illuminates the vast chasm separating the ruling elite from everyone else.Known for its extensive collection of icons – painted images of venerated saints, martyrs and prophets of the Orthodox Church – the Clinton museum is hosting a traveling exhibition of 230 objects from the Kathleen Durdin Collection. It was organized by the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.Noting the exhibit covers more than two centuries, museum CEO and curator Kent dur Russell said the improving craftsmanship of objects on display followed "the same trajectory’’ as the making of icons shown throughout the museum."The style and manufacture of pieces from ‘The Tsar’s Cabinet’ runs parallel to what was happening as the making of icons grew from crude to more refined over the same period of time,’’ he said.Though understated, the juxtaposition between the pious art of the museum’s 700 icons collected by founder Gordon B. Lankton with luxurious objects from "The Tsars’ Cabinet’’ suggests the polarities of Russian society that eventually triggered the revolution that ended Romanov rule in a spasm of violence.Lankton said secular objects and sacred icons each "told their own stories’’ that would help visitors understand different aspects of Russian history.As if sitting down for caviar with the Romanovs, visitors will see silverware from Catherine the Great’s dessert service, vodka cups from the imperial yacht and a gilded silver cigar case from the era of Russia’s last tsar or czar as the title is sometimes spelled.Registrar Laura Garrity-Arquitt, who adapted the traveling exhibit for the Clinton museum, urged visitors to view it chronologically starting with the reign of Peter the Great in the Entry Gallery to "The End of a Dynasty’’ in the West Gallery. The exhibit's 20 sections each cover a brief period of time or specific objects from the Durdin Collection and fills the entire West Gallery."It tells a different story than the icon collection or exhibits we’ve had about folk art. It adds depth about another part of society so visitors can understand all facets of Russia’s history,’’ she said.If you think the movie "The Butler’’ provided an inside-the-pantry view of the White House, the porcelain tea canisters decorated with pastoral scenes, a beer beaker bearing the engraved image of the imperial eagle and the impossibly ornate porcelain urn covered with neoclassical designs will help you imagine how Russian royalty lived.Visiting with her mother from Boston, Lena Romanova, who left Riga, Russia in 1996, said, "Every single object told a story’’ about her native land’s history.A financier now living in Nevada, she said the disparity between magnificent royal objects and the lives of common people didn’t trouble her."Every country has a royal family or wealthy class,’’ said Romanova. "Looking at these objects and the icons, you can see how rich was Russia’s culture.’’The Rev. Yaroslav Belikow, archpriest of St. John’s Parish in Framingham, expressed hopes the exhibit would show visitors Russia’s "high level of cultural accomplishments" during that period "that are often disregarded or ignored.’’However, he added the prestige attached to luxury objects also suggested a "big gap in the spirituality of the ruling classes’’ that eventually led to its own downfall.Nicholas Nicholson, who presented an opening evening presentation on "Jewels of the Romanovs,’’ said he was especially impressed by "the wonderful juxtaposition’’ of the exhibit’s decorative treasures with "timeless and eternal’’ icons that seem to exist "outside the material world.’’A Russian specialist at Christie’s fine arts auction house, he became American curator of a traveling exhibit about the Romanov jewels and later started his own firm, Nicholson Art Advisory.He disputed the view the Romanovs’ lavish spending on luxury items triggered popular outrage that led to a revolution."Jewelry doesn’t bring down an empire,’’ he said. "Poverty does. Hunger does. Injustice does. Not jewelry.’’Chris Bergeron is a Daily News staff writer. Contact him at cbergeron@wickedlocal.com or 508-626-4448. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts and on Facebook."The Tsars’ Cabinet’’WHEN: Through May 24WHERE: Museum of Russian Icons, 203 Union St., ClintonINFO: 978-598-5000; www.museumofrussianicons.org